Reliance Power Solar-Thermal Plant Stalled by Water Delay

By Natalie Obiko Pearson -
May 13, 2013

A Reliance Power Ltd. (RPWR) solar-thermal
plant should start up next month after missing a May deadline
because Indian authorities failed to lay a water pipeline to the
site in time, Chief Executive Officer Jayaram P. Chalasani said.

The 100-megawatt project “is ready to go” as soon as the
water arrives, Chalasani told reporters today in Mumbai. The
Rajasthan state government is completing the pipeline and the
plant should begin generating after testing, he said.

Solar-thermal plants focus sunlight to produce steam and
are valued for their ability to store energy. The 470 megawatts
of projects, India’s first to use the technology, also struggled
with importing equipment and raising funds, Ministry of New and
Renewable Energy Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor said last week.